What Now?
by NeckMeat
Summary: "Do you regret anything you've done my disciple?" I stared at him, waiting to see if he actually wanted me to answer that. His gaze remained fixed on me and I realized he did. I thought long and hard. I saw her smile, heard her laugh, remembered our time spent together, and her last moments alive. My eyes reached his and then I spoke. "I regret not being able to save her my liege."
1. Prologue: The Night I Died

Prologue: The Night I Died

Right now, I'm lying on my back, reeling in pain, staring into the glowing red eyes of the man who's standing above me. We're in the middle of a field, about a mile away from my house, with a full moon and twinkling stars above us. In my mad dash to escape him I had somehow fallen. _Had he attacked me, or did I fall while trying to run away? _This was my exact thought as he stared me down. His breath reaches my face and tickles my skin. I feel cold and tired as shivers start to wrack my body. I start smelling blood and all I can do is pray it isn't coming from me. _I never thought it would end this way, I always thought I'd go out with a bang, not a whimper. Hey, murderer, make my death quick and painless at least. _As if reading my thoughts he started smiling sadistically while slowly lowering himself to my level. All the while he never broke eye contact. Now his face was no more than an inch away from mine and the smell of blood was even stronger. _At least now I know it isn't coming from me._ He opened his mouth gradually. Soon, wickedly sharp incisors came into view, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was going to do with those. Grabbing my head with one hand and my shoulder with the other, he bent my head then brought my neck to his face. Now, with this monster about to kill me, I realize something I should have a long time ago.

I didn't want to die as much as I had previously thought.

But just as he was about to bite, teeth hovering above the fragile skin of my neck, he faltered. He got a strange look on his face, as if he just remembered something. Then he released his hold on my neck and stood back up. Confused, I dared to ask him what his problem was. _Why doesn't he just finish this? _Before I could speak however, he promptly stuck his foot on my chest.

"Shut up and let me think" he sounded as if he were talking to an annoying sibling. _What's up with this guy? Is he bipolar or something? _

After that he began to stare at the sky. _Whatever this man's deal is, I don't exactly want to stick around and find out._ Using this moment of distraction, I wrapped my hands around his leg. Using whatever strength I had left, I pulled, trying my hardest to get his foot off my chest. But in spite of how hard I pulled, the man's leg would simply not budge. Jesus, it didn't even look like he had noticed my efforts. The strange thing was, he looked quite thin and weak, but somehow he could press what felt like a thousand pounds on me with one foot.

Finally, he noticed my struggle and he turned his head to look at me. "What? Don't like the mercy I'm showing you human? You know, I could have simply drained you and left you to rot. You have no idea how long I've gone without a proper feeding. However, I'm feeling generous and have decided to put you to better use then simply as food." Again, his cheery demeanor returned as he flashed me a wicked grin. Removing his foot from my chest, he offered me his hand. Dumbfounded, I looked into his piercing eyes and shook my head, refusing to grab it.

But He insisted. "Come on, I won't bite, much."

Finally I relented. _Well, I'm dead anyway._ I latched onto his arm and he pulled me up in a flash. He looked me over and I guessed he was checking for injuries. Then he spoke.

"Now look, don't mistake this for weakness. Personally I have no qualms about killing you. But right now you're more useful to me alive. Now you may be wondering "but how?" Well I'll tell you. You see when you get to be around my age you start realizing that a singular force isn't as effective as a unit. So, in response to this realization I've been building a group of strong or special individuals to boost my power."

Now I'm scared. This guy is either insane or he's being honest about this, both options sound bad right about now. I would have started running, but he began to speak again.

"Anyway let's make this quick, I have to get back to the boys or else they'll kill each other."

Opening my mouth for the first time in what felt like forever I spoke. "Make what quick?"

He simply looked at me and said in an even tone "Why, the siring process of course. Don't worry it'll be quick. "

Before I could even ask him what this process was he had vanished. Looking around I saw nothing but endless grass and trees surrounding me. I was about to leave when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around and there he was, right in my face. In a flash he grabbed me and sunk his teeth into my neck. As his fangs went deeper and deeper into the soft skin of my neck the stabbing pain became worse. Soon I began to feel weak and my vision was becoming darker. Then, just as I was on the verge of passing out, he released me. Not even having the strength to stand anymore, I fell with a thump to the ground once again.

"Even better than I imagined. Now it's your turn to suck." Bringing his arm up to his mouth he bit down on it, hard, and drew blood. He then lowered his bleeding arm slowly down to my face. I gave him a disbelieving scowl while he did this. _I'm dying of blood loss, how is drinking this man's fluids going to fix that?_

"Drink" he commanded. Now his face showed no emotion except cold indifference.

Having no other option, I obliged. Bringing his arm to my mouth I began sucking on the wound, cold blood filling my mouth and flowing down my throat. At first I thought I would retch or gag while drinking. But as I continued to suck this mans vitae I noticed something, the blood was delicious. Soon I began wanting more. I went faster, sucking more and more.

"That's enough!" he shouted, and then he pushed me off with his free hand.

At first nothing happened, I began to think this was all some kind of joke. But then my insides started to burn and the sheer agony was like no other as my internal organs felt like they were melting. Then I started uncontrollably shaking and convulsing on the wet grass while foaming at the mouth.

"Quite the taste isn't it boy? Like nectar of the gods or some kind of forbidden fruit." As he was talking all I could do was lazily roll my head to the side to face him. Saliva running freely from my mouth a coming down my neck. "Now I have to go. Maybe if I find you within the next thousand years I'll bring you with me, but for now this is goodbye."

He dusted himself off, running his hands up and down, then gave me a small wave. Vanishing again I thought this time he was gone for good, but then I saw him. He was at the edge of the forest, staring at me, almost like he was analyzing me. But I blinked and then he was gone. I didn't know it at the time but It would be one major war and a good couple of centuries before I saw him again. Soon the pain died down, but not before all the feeling in my body left as well and my eyelids were falling. Soon there was nothing but inky blackness and freezing cold. Knowing I was about to die, I gave up and let my consciousness fade. Then there was nothing.

But then I heard a voice from somewhere, calling out my name…

"Ivan"


	2. Chapter 1: Small Talk and Tomatoes

Chapter 1: Small Talk and Tomatoes

"Ivan" a voice pierced the darkness.

"Ivan!" this time it was louder

"Ivan!" I think my eardrums just exploded.

My eyes snapped open and I let out a growl. Sitting up straight in my bed, I shifted my entire body to face whoever this voice belonged to.

"What!?" I screamed out loud. Whoever this guy was he had no right to awaken me from my slumber. But then I blinked away the blurriness in my eyes and saw who it was. It turned out to be my best friend Kaden. I must have been really stoned last night not to realize that sooner.

He was standing to the left of my bed, looking rather annoyed and red faced. On any other day this would have been comical considering his looks. What with his white hair, short height, and fat body, he almost looks like Santa. I would have made a joke then but his eyes were shooting daggers at me.

"Finally, I've been trying to wake you up for hours Ivan! Do you have any idea how hard it is to wake a deep sleeper like you? I'm surprised I even managed to wake you up." He looked rather pleased with himself now, all smug and victorious. As he always does when completing a goal. No wonder I was his only friend, no one else could stand him or his rants. Maybe I should remind him one of these days how lonely he'd be without me. Who else would have spent the last couple hundred years being his friend? But then I remember that I'm not quite evil enough to do that, and it depresses me.

My brain was still functioning at about twenty five percent power, but I still got most of what he was saying. Then I asked my own question. "Damn Kaden, who sent you to wreck my morning this time?" Although I had asked, I already knew it was Harold. He never sent anyone besides Kaden to wake people up. That was probably because no one besides Kaden would want to.

He smiled then spoke as if reading from a script. "Why, our great leader Harold of course, he has a meeting today in about two hours. He personally asked me to make sure you attend this time. However, this will be no ordinary meeting. Harold will call upon one of his disciples to carry out what might just be the most important mission in all of the bloody fangs history!" Of course, when it came to our sire Harold, Kaden would never fail to make sure I would hear. Even when it was a really bad time or I was in the middle of something, like now for instance. And I couldn't care less about meetings, all the same sort of stuff was discussed there. "How will we take over the vampire kingdom? How will we become powerful enough to kill Marceline? When will we be having red velvet cake ice cream?

I let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. Of all the times Kaden had woken me up, this was definitely the worst. "If the meeting is two hours away then why are you here, waking me up?"

At this he started to fidget. Then he mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" I asked

"I wanted to take you out for some food." He spoke suddenly.

"That's it?"

"And maybe take a walk or something. Look Ivan this is big. What if he calls on me to carry out this task for him? But what if he doesn't? Glob Ivan, this uncertainty is killing me! So I need this little diversion before we go to ease my stress!" His face was getting red again. How he did that without a beating heart was beyond me. Then again Kaden did a lot of things that were weird, even by vampire standards.

"Kaden I really don't feel like going. Can't you just tell them I'm sick or something?" It was true, my head hurt and my stomach burned. All I wanted to do was sleep for about a century. But knowing Kaden, I knew he wouldn't give up so easily.

Kaden gave me a disbelieving look. "Ivan, you know that excuse never works. You're a vampire so how can you even get sick in the first place? Besides, you only have yourself to blame for eating tomatoes all night long." Damn Kaden and his perceptive abilities. Also why does vampire logic hate me?

"I don't know what you're talking about." I had to admit that I sounded childish now.

"Don't play dumb with me Ivan I always notice when you're about to go eat tomatoes. It usually begins with you getting this blank look in your eyes, followed by excessive staring, then finally ended by you excusing yourself in the quickest way possible."

"So what if I am? Why can't I indulge myself a little?" Or more accurately, drown my sorrows.

"Because it's not just a little, it's every other day." Wow, he was counting?

"Hey I'm not hurting anybody by doing it." My defense was rapidly growing weaker.

"You're hurting me and yourself." Well it's mostly me but okay.

"Since when did you care?"

"Are we really going to have this conversation again Ivan?" It was true; we had had this conversation many times before.

"That depends, are you going to keep bothering me about my eating habits?"

He let out a sigh, "Fine just lighten up okay? I don't want everyone thinking my friends a good for nothing stoner."

"I'll think about it." I wasn't.

"Fine, can we go now?" Why are you always so pushy?

I made a gesture towards my half naked body.

"Oh, right, well I'll just wait in the hall then. Come out when you're ready. And don't take an hour just to get dressed."

"Yeah, well do"

Kaden left in a rush, slamming the door behind him. Maybe if I was lucky the door would be broken as well, yet another thing to fix in this wonderful apartment.

Swinging my body to the left I stepped off the bed. As soon as my feet touched the floor I felt intense cold from the marble ground. "Would it kill them to install some heaters or something?" I spoke to no one. In truth I hadn't been the first to ask for heaters, but no one had been successful in getting them so far. Maybe if our landlord wasn't such an awful person he might've considered some of the requests.

My apartment wasn't much to talk about. It was one room with a bed, dresser, desk, couch, and a table. The apartment lacks a bathroom. This wasn't because the apartment was cheap. Vampires don't have bodily functions like that, so there's no need for one. And since we can all just drink the color red from just about anything, there isn't much use for a kitchen either. All in all, I could do better but I could do a lot worse.

I moved slowly so as not to fall over. My head still wasn't crystal clear so I wanted to avoid falling. I shuffled at a snail's pace to the dresser, dragging my feet with each step. On the way however a grey notebook on my desk caught my eye. No, don't go over there. Don't look at it, don't talk about, and don't even think about. I know I made mistakes before but right now I don't need to be reminded of them. But soon the thoughts filled my head and it was no use trying to stop them.

Once, a long time ago I used to write in that journal. I thought that since I would live for so many years I would need to keep a journal as a way of remembrance. Little did I know that shortly after becoming a vampire the world would become a living hell. Watching everything I'd ever known or love being burned to ashes in the flames of atomic fire. Soon the things I wrote in there became more and more grim until nothing but sadness remained. So I thought I would throw it away or something at the first opportunity. But for some reason however I can't part with the damn thing no matter how hard I try. And so it has lain on that desk for almost five centuries, untouched by neither me nor friend or stranger. I avoid it like a bomb that could go off at any minute. And that is the way I intend to keep it.

Forcing myself to look away I proceeded to the dresser.


	3. Chapter 2: When I Started Writing

Chapter 2: When I Started Writing

The blackness I had been stuck in never seemed to end. I felt like a speck in this space and I worried that I would be absorbed into its infinite mass at any given moment. For a while nothing happened as I floated in the darkness. Then voices began to become audible. They screamed, whimpered, and sobbed. But then it started getting really creepy. The voices started to sound just like that of my mother. Then they started to talk directly to me instead of just making sounds.

"Why did you leave me Ivan?"

"Why did you kill me Ivan?"

"Why didn't you help me Ivan?"

I was becoming increasingly uneasy as the voices seemed to multiply and come closer. They only increased in anger and fury as they approached. Soon it became too loud to even think as the voices shouted and screamed at me.

"How could I have given birth to such a bastard?"

Then I noticed an object in the distance, it was rapidly approaching me. As the object got closer I saw that it wasn't an object at all. Flying towards me at a rapid rate was a freaking behemoth owl. It was a sparkling, gigantic, black and golden owl with the biggest and brightest pair of white eyes I had ever seen. This thing had to be a god or at the very least some supremely powerful being. Did that mean I really had died when that man bit me? Had my death now somehow summoned one of Cthulhu's servants? Before I could think about it any longer the space owl had already flown itself in closely and had opened its beak to speak to me.

"Prepare for the future vampire, as only death and despair await you in the coming years." The giant creature bellowed.

The owl then opened its beak as wide as possible allowing me to see a blue hole filled with stars within. Then, just as I was about to ask it what was going on, it swallowed me whole. I was flung to the back of its mouth and sent falling down its gullet all the while shouting in terror.

My eyes snapped open as I was falling down its throat. I was lying on my back in the same exact position on this grassy field as I had been when sucking that man's blood last night. I hadn't even shifted an inch in my sleep in the middle of the field either.

I lay there for a moment, doing nothing more than staring at the sky. After a few moments I began rubbing my eyes, trying to get sleep and drowsiness to withdraw from my sockets. When I got just about every bit of sand in my eyes, I stopped then stared at the sky again. Morning was now officially coming. The sun was just barely peeking out from the top of the tallest trees, but already its life giving rays were lighting up the surrounding area. Soon the sun would go from a bright pink to a glowing orange. All of this was quite beautiful, as most mornings here tend to be. At least the ones I pay attention to.

I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't care how or why I had survived, only that I was indeed alive. In that moment I wanted more than anything to go back in time and take back all the times I had doubted how great it was to be alive. Then I was going to go home and tell my mom how much I loved her and how grateful I was to have her as my parent. Basically I was going to take back all my poorly made decisions and thoughts. I was so caught up in these ideas that I almost remained ignorant to the fiery ache now settling into my hand.

I tried ignoring it a first, thinking it was nothing but some kind of bite or rash. That was however proven wrong when the painful sensation moved up my arm and into my shoulder. Now it was less of a burning pain and more like someone was sticking a white hot poker into my arm. Great, had a snake or some other poisonous creature bitten me while I had slept? Looking at my right arm however the sight that awaited me not only baffled, but deeply disturbed me.

It hadn't been a bite from any animal which was causing my pain and discomfort. My skin had been bubbling and melting as sunlight made contact with it, actively dissolving and peeling away to reveal the muscle, bone, and tendons underneath.

"Holy shit!" I yelled using all available air within my lungs. I was so loud I swear I saw a couple birds fly away.

Getting up onto my feet quickly I hurried away from the sunlight. As soon as my injured skin met the shadow of a nearby tree the bubbling and melting stopped. The skin then rapidly rebuilt itself. As I watched the healing process I couldn't help but think of some bad science fiction movies. I saw individual strands of my skin connecting with one another then stretching to fill the various holes caused by the sunlight. Whatever magic or sorcery this was I was convinced that it had to be the work of the man from last night. Why had he made me suck his blood after he had drained me of mine? Did he enchant me? Curse me? Maybe give me some alien parasite or something? Ugh, each one sounded less and less likely until…

Sunlight…

Then it hit me like a sack of bricks. That's it! I get it now! That's why he sucked my blood! It wasn't magic or parasites! He was a vampire! Why had it taken me this long to figure a simple thing like that out? My face lit up with a cheery smile as this realization came to me, but then my smile faded as I began to realize something else as well.

This would have to mean that I'm now a vampire too right? I mean he did go through that long and drawn out siring process. Oh god, my mom's going to chew me out for this. How am I going to be able to live a normal life now? How am I going to explain to everyone that I'm a blood sucking demon now? Would I even confess to them at all or would I simply keep it as my own little dangerous secret for all eternity? Will they resent me? Dread me? Begrudgingly accept me? Why did this have to happen to me now? For globs sake, I was only sixteen years old for crying out loud! Why didn't that asshole from last night just take some kind of able bodied twenty something instead? He did say he wanted "special" people in his so called group, why waste the time and effort on someone so bland?

Then I felt that searing pain on my legs. In my short moment of contemplation the sun had decided to advance without my knowledge. This was really bad, I had to get home before the sun came up completely or else I would be burned to ashes. But how was I going to accomplish something like that with nothing to protect my skin?

Studying the surrounding area thoroughly I didn't spot anything too lifesaving, unless twigs and grass could somehow magically form clothes. Then again I was a vampire now. If vampires exist then why can't magical forest leftovers that form clothes in an instant exist as well? Hell, maybe it'll also become a wise old guru that tells me what that stupid dream owl had meant. Or maybe it won't do anything because it isn't magical dumbass!

Groaning in exasperation I was all but ready to give up. Of all the times to wear a muscle shirt with shorts I had chosen to wear this combo during last night's excursion to the grocery store. This was just great, my first day of being a fledgling vampire and already I'm doomed to die a slow painful death. There wasn't a single useful thing to be found in this forest either. All I had seen was grass and mud, how in the world was that going to save me? It was as if the universe was playing a joke on me by giving me all this crap. Maybe next it can cover me in mud as well.

Cover me in mud?

I suddenly remembered an amazing act of brilliance from media and immediately I began scooping up handfuls of mud from beneath my feet and started to apply them to whatever body parts might be exposed. Mainly it was my arms, legs, neck, and face. Why was I doing this? Well it's really quite simple. I had seen this in a movie a long time ago with some guy called Arnold something. He had spread mud on himself to avoid showing up on extraterrestrial heat detecting equipment and had used that advantage to get the jump on his alien enemy. Maybe this would let me do something a little similar to that, only instead of hiding me from an alien maybe it could hide and protect me from the dastardly sun?

A few minutes of thoroughly applying the mud later and I felt confident enough to test this plan in reality. I stood at the edge of a sunbeam, took in a deep breath, and then held out my arm as far as it would go.

Nothing…

No burning pain or discomfort to be felt whatsoever.

Now this kids, this is why you watch movies that are way too mature for you. Never know when awful movie logic is actually going to work.

I stopped holding my breath and exhaled rather loudly. I also wiped an imaginary sweat drop from my forehead with the back of my hand. I guess you could say I was a bit over dramatic at times.

"Hey!" I shouted, "A stopped clock is right twice a day, am I right?"

A bird chirped in the distance.

"Tough crowd" I mumble.

Satisfied with my results in the mud experiment I began walking towards the edge of the forest. Although I personally didn't know this particular section of the forest I was confident that I could deduce which way would lead towards my neighborhood, and subsequently, my house.

Arriving at the point where the fields grass and the forests trees meet, I tried to look between the trees for any buildings or familiar urban landmarks, but either the forest was too thick or I really was far away from home because I couldn't catch a glimpse of anything. Personally I would prefer the former.

"Whatever" I muttered, letting my sullen mood be known to the uncaring wilderness. I pushed into the forest. The upper tree canopy's were blocking the sunlight and made the forest interior nicely shaded. This made me question why I had put mud on myself in the first place. _It's not for now, it's for later. Ask yourself this, mister genius. What would you have used to shield yourself from sunlight in the middle of a neighborhood huh smart guy? Come on, you're a dumb move kind of guy, or have you forgotten those mistakes already?_

"Shut up" I hissed. It acted as a warning for the voice that lurked within my own head.

For some time all I did was meander through the forest, randomly changing direction and speed. Many times I had almost tripped and fallen while doing this, my foot getting stuck on plants or roots. This tedious walk was doing nothing to help my already worsening mood and I could already feel ready to burst. I felt like beating the snout out of someone.

This was starting to annoy me. How long had I been walking already? Two hours, maybe three? I really hoped I wasn't lost. What would mother say if she woke up and saw I wasn't there? It wasn't like I could say I went to a friend's house as I had no friends. Looking at my body I realized she would also realize something happened because I was filthy. Clothes cut, hair everywhere, and mud all over. She'd make a big scene asking where I had gone and what had happened. She had always done that, so now I really needed to get home.

I guess fate was smiling on me, because not two minutes later I stumbled out of the forest right onto the road from last night. Whirling around, I looked back and saw nothing but endless trees. I wasn't about to question how this had happened. I was just going to go with it.

Looking around I only reconfirmed my earlier assessment. This was in fact the very same street; even this spot where I ran into the forest was the same.

Great, I just had to go in the opposite direction.

I guess I really had spent a good couple of hours in that forest. The sun was now higher and the sky was baby blue. Maybe if the sunlight didn't burn me I could've stayed and admired it for a little bit. But I knew I needed to get out of there fast. Shaking my head at the wasted opportunity I started to jog down the road.

With nothing but endless road in front of me and thick forest on either side I started to fall into boredom. Now that I was on my way home maybe I could think about some things.

_What was that dream supposed to mean? Why did those voices sound like my mom? And what was with that giant owl and the "prepare for the future thing?" It's not like everyone's going to die tomorrow, right? _I shivered a bit at that last thought.

_No, I can't lose my mom; I don't care if she doesn't like it or if she doesn't believe me. I'll turn her if I have to. But hopefully that won't come any time soon. _

The endless road I had been jogging down started to disappear as suburbs and towns started to come into view. My hometown wasn't big nor was it a tourist trap, but still it was home. I didn't live in the first few suburbs as mine was still farther down the road. So in an effort to get there faster I started to speed up and moved from a jog to a full on sprint. Even doing this however did not tire me greatly if at all and I continued sprinting for another ten minutes.

Then I spotted my suburb to the right of the road, like an oasis in a barren desert. I turned to my right and headed for it.

My neighborhood was a simple place. It was shaped like a circle with houses running around the sidewalk. This was the place I had spent my childhood all the years after, funny that I was going to outlast my own childhood home. But I guess that's the price that comes with being what I am.

My house was located in the middle of this here neighborhood. It was painted yellow and was only one story. The front porch had a rocking chair and a table on it. Four houses were on either side and the lawn had various items lying on it. Mom had wanted to start some kind of garden or something so she had asked me to clean it up multiple times. I had never once cleaned up the lawn and because of that the grass was dying and turning yellow due to lack of care. Maybe if I had stopped running I would have felt bad about that.

I ran through the lawn and up onto the front porch. I grabbed the door knob and slowly turned it, trying my hardest to be stealthy. The door came open with a creak and it echoed all throughout the house, so much for being sneaky.

The house itself was simple as well. When you entered through the front door you would arrive in the living room in a couple of steps. Go the right of there and you would find the bathroom down the left side of a hallway. Down that same hallway was my mother's room on the right. If you went left from the living room you would end up in the kitchen. Past that and down another hallway my room is on the left and the laundry room is to the right. That's basically it.

I went into the living room and looked around, no mom there. I turned my head to the left and saw the kitchen, but mom wasn't there either. Where had she gone? Usually when she wakes up she would watch TV or make something to eat but now she was nowhere to be found. Already this was making all sorts of bad thoughts pop into my head.

"Mom?" I asked.

Deciding that I should find her I started in the first logical place, her bedroom. Walking down the hallway to my right I kept the right side. Arriving at her door, I raised my hand and knocked a couple of times, but the door remained shut. Getting nervous I asked again.

"Mom?!"

Still there was no response. Aw to heck with it.

"Mom, I don't care if it's rude I coming in their whether you want me to or not!" I cried.

Putting my hand on the door knob I turned it as fast as possible and rushed in. There, sitting on the bed was a lumpy looking shape. Unsure of what it was I approached slowly, one foot after the other, making little noise. When I got close to the shape I stood still for a second, then I poked it in the shoulder. It felt fluffy for some reason.

Grabbing it by the shoulders I turned it around. The objects that came into view were not my mom. It was just a couple pillows set up to look like a human.

"Oh no." I almost whispered. I should have realized what this was right from the start, but I guess last night's activities had made me forget the signs.

Maybe it wasn't too late, maybe I could escape.

That thought was dashed however as a flying pie made contact with the back of my head, spraying my back and the bed in front of me. Footsteps then came out of nowhere behind me. The footsteps stopped and I could almost imagine the look she was giving me.

She Chuckled and laughed. "You never learn do you Ivan? What's the number one rule when it comes to pranks?"

I sighed "If something's weird never approach it and never touch it." She had beaten this into my brain with the dozens of pranks she had pulled on me.

"What else?" she went on.

"Mom is the one and only pranks master." I had tried to stay mad but my mom's cheerful attitude was already working its magic. A small smile started to spread across my face.

"Aw, just for that, you get a consolation hug!" she shouted.

My mom ran up to me with outstretched arms then caught me in a bear hug. Man, even being a vampire her hugs were still painful. But if nothing else it was a relief to know she was unharmed, even if she had made me worry for nothing. That didn't mean I wasn't going to get her back for this.

While she was preoccupied with the hug I reached back with my right hand and scooped up some pie still sticking to the back of my head, getting as much as I could fit. I then uttered this into mom's ear.

"Hey mom" I whispered.

"Yes Ivan?" She asked sweetly.

"Do you know what your prize is?"

"No"

I nearly broke out chortling right then. "Pie!" I yelled.

"Pie? What?" Then she gasped "don't do it Ivan!"

But it was already too late. I brought my pie filled hand down upon her face, smearing it in a circular motion. She let go of me and started sputtering and gagging.

"Gah! Come on Ivan!" She spoke in between spitting out bits of pie.

"But mom, all good pranksters know that when an opportunity presents itself you take it!"

She had finished spitting out cake and wiping her eyes. Now she could finally see, although her face was still white from the sugar and had various pieces of fruit dotting it. Her red, curly hair was what really completed the whole clown look for me. I'd make sure to tease her about it later.

I expected her to be upset, but she was still smiling. She was just like that, always so optimistic, always making people feel better. She could make just about anyone be her friend. Me? I was the exact opposite. Not many people want to be around a pessimist I suppose.

"Ha! I have thought you well! Maybe we can add 'best mother ever' to my ever growing list of achievements!" Mom knew only two volumes when speaking, loud and shouting.

I gave her a half smile. "Yeah, maybe we could."

She beamed that smile of hers when I said that. Her smile was special; it could melt even the most frozen hearts. That had to be why my high school had picked her to be one of the school counselors.

If my mom hadn't been shouting before well she had to be now. "You're darn right we could! Now come on let's have some breakfast!"

Just as she was about to leave the room she turned around and looked at me with a suddenly serious face.

"And Ivan, You'll explain where you were last night, just not right now. Right now we are going to have breakfast. After that I'll expect you to take a shower after me."

"How come you always get to go first?" I whined.

Her serious face vanished and the cheerful face came out once more. "That's because I always prank you first Ivan. Maybe if you took some initiative and tried to beat me to the punch you'd actually get to be first for once."

Having said this she whipped around and marched towards the kitchen. The sound of her footsteps soon grew faint, and then disappeared entirely.

I waited a couple minutes after she left, then let my smile vanish. I started to worry right about then.

I would have to tell her eventually. I would outlive her by hundreds if not thousands of years. I might accidently kill her.

Shaking my head I tried to calm myself. I tried focusing on other things like where she had been hiding.

I looked everywhere within the room yet could not find the spot she had come from.

"How does she do that?"

Shrugging my shoulders I walked out of the room. I was shuffling down the hallway moving towards the living room when I smelled the one thing I could not believe she was making.

It was her special pancakes.

The Pancakes my mother made were probably the best I had ever eaten. I had no clue how she took regular ingredients and made something amazing with them. That's my mom for you, she would always surprise you.

When I walked into the living room I saw my mom over at the kitchen, slaving away with a pan that was somehow already filled with almost finished pancakes. I couldn't see any ingredients either. Yup, its official, my mother is somehow a magician.

"Hey Ivan!" She barked

"Yeah mom?"

"Check the coffee table!" She Commanded

I did as I was told. I strolled over to the small table between our two green coaches. On the tiny table was a gray composition book. Picking it up, I leafed through this notebook to see if it really was blank, it was. I was confused as to why she had given me this though. I don't remember ever asking her for a notebook.

I put my hands around my mouth in a cone shape to try and make myself louder. "Hey mom!"

She cocked her head to the side and looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Why'd you give me this?"

She turned her attention back to the stove. "I thought that maybe you would want to start writing in a journal or something."

"Why?"

She flipped an almost fully made pancake and caught it in her pan. "You're always talking about how you want to make your own book someday, so what if you keep track of all the things that happen to you every day and use that as material for your book!"

"Huh, thanks mom."

She dropped a pancake onto a dish. "Don't mention it. Just make sure you use it as a journal this time and not a toy."

"In my defense that paper house thing was quite well made, before it got set on fire." The last part came out as a mumble.

"Sure it was Ivan, and you're not the one who set it on fire either." She looked at me once again with a knowing smile.

I frowned somewhat as she said this to me. "I think I'm going to go watch TV."

She snickered. "You do that Ivan."

Sitting down on the left couch I grabbed the remote off the coffee table. Pressing the red power button the TV came to life. The first thing that came on was a commercial for some kind of anti-ageing cream. I was about to change the channel when the news came on.

On the screen was an aerial view of what I guessed was some new excavation site in Africa, or Egypt, or something. No archeologists were surrounding the hole which lay in the middle of this site. Instead gathering around the hole were no-nonsense looking troops from various countries, facing off. Guns were aimed at each other and the soldiers looked ready to act at a moment's notice. Inside the hole I could see some kind of glowing orb, and it was…levitating? I was trying to get a better look at the object when a reporter's voice came on.

"Ladies and Gentleman, as you can see from this live video feed, armies from various countries in Europe are ready to fight over this small orb in Northern Africa. No one knows what it is or what it does, but what we do know is that it must be important if it's worth risking full out war for. With all this happening, is it really only a matter of time before war breaks out? No one can know for sure at this point, the governments of the world have remained tight lipped and unwilling to divulge details. At the moment it appears only time will tell what happens in the coming weeks and months. For now, this is Steve Marten signing off."

I shut off the TV with a stunned look on my face. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. This is insane, why would all those countries fight over a dinky looking orb? But even with that being said, there is no way they would resort to war. I mean they do know what consequences would be right? Nuclear destruction and devastation would be on an unimaginable scale. The human race would be lucky to survive at all. They aren't crazy enough to destroy the world over orbs right?

"Ivan!" My mom's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yes mom?"

"Breakfast is ready!"

"Ok, I'll be there in a second!"

Turning my head to the side I saw a pencil next to the journal. Picking both of these things up I Flipped open the journal and turned to the first page.

Dear Journal…


End file.
